Art of rolling hollow-headed metal bars.



S. R. VANNAMAN.

ART OF ROLLING HOLLOW HEADED METAL BARS.,

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1914.

mama May 18, 1915."

4 SHEETSSHEEI l.

S. R. VANNAMAN.

ART or ROLLING HOLLOW HE'ADED METAL BARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, I914.

Patented May 18, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

i illj] n lllumulmngljn s. R. VANNAMAN. ART OF ROLLI'NG HOLLOW HEADEDMETAL BARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15: 914. 1,140,087. Patented May 18, 1915.

N R N 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

x Q Q /7/VW g g & l

W 4 ,L'LS/Z' %n7zzzmazn/ 1m II HI IIIIH S. R. VANNAMAN.

A 1T OF ROLLING HOL LOW HEADED METAL BARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. is, I914.

Patent-e d -May 18; 1915,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT o FioE.

SILAS n. VANNAMAN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS-,ASSIGNOR TOAAIMERICAN' 3-way mm5 COMPANY, or LAPORTE, INDIANA, A conronarron or rnnnsrnvnnra.

, ART or ROLLING HOLLOW-BEADED METAL nAns..; i

Specification of Letters Patent. I v Paten td lay 18 1915,

l Application filed April 15,1514. Serial No. 831,917.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SILAs R. VANNAMAN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook-and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in the Art of Rolhng Hollow-Headed Metal Bars, of which thefollowing is a-specification.

My invention relates to the art of making metallic muntins or sash-barsand the like. In the manufacture of sky lights, prismatic-reflectorwindows, and the like, metallic muntins or double-channel bars arecommonly employed for receiving and connecting contiguous small panes ofglass, and one advantageous form of such muntin construction-consistsofa metallic strip formed, in

cross sectionsomewhatlike a dumb-bell, to v provide a central barflanked by twohollow heads, said heads substantially at right angles tosaid bar and extending on both sides of the plane of said bar to make adouble channel, having its parallel heads convexly curved at their outersurfaces. The bar'portion ofsuch muntin strip is usually, wholly or inpart, of double thickness, one thickness of the bar being theundivided-central portion of the strip and the other thickness of thebar. being composed of the marginal edge portions of the strip, abuttingedge to edge either in substantially meeting relation or ore or lessseparated.

"Modifications of such particular muntin' construction are alsoemployed, but the muntin strip formation above described sufiices toindicate a class of metallic muntin structure to the manufacture ofwhichmy invenmany disadvantages from 'a manufacturing viewpoint. Forinstance, the bar'is commonly made of zinc, and the drawing operationentails considerable loss of stock. Zinc sheets cut into strips ofappropriate width are commonly employed as the stock from materialwastage for several reasons. The border strips cut from the zinc platesare in stand the strain of drawing and have to be -'pleted article. Alsoin"practice, the di'awlng dies are subject to wear, whichresults,

described; from light'er zinc stock than here;

universal practice, so far as I am aware, to

which to make the structure, but there is practice,nearly alwayschecked, or weakened by fine cracks, so that they will not discarded."Also, each strip has to have its" 515 end folded into suitableform'toreceivethe I gripper of the drawing machine and several j inches ofstock-strip are necessarily wasted. Also in practice the grippers ofthedrawing machine often breakthe leading end of the so stock, entailingloss of material. as. well as f waste 'oftime. Furthermore, theoperation I of such a drawing machine usuallyrequires the attendanceoftwo operators, one to feed gripper; Also a disadvantage is that the 1strain of the drawing operation inherentlyrequires the useof arelatively stout or thick stock, with attendant highcost andjtheldisadvantage-of increased weight inthe COIIP.

during along run, in a material change, in the thickness of portions ofthe drawn arti-' cle, and some variation in the lengthofthe drawn barproduced from a given lengthof original-'strip-stock; By the use of myin vention all of these disadvantages are [over 7 come. In thepracticeof my-invention I roll such strips without any drawing action 80whatever, and, as far as I am aware, I amv the first successfully toaccomplish the roll ing of such bar. j

By the practicecf my invention I am'able to produce muntin strips of thecharacter tofore; to employ border strips cut from aplate as'efiectivelyas intermediate strips, without'breakage ordefective results; to de; 1crease the cost of production very mate'- rially; toinsure uniformity inthe productr;'-

- to enablelasingle operator adequatelyto serve the apparatus; toincrease theoutpiitl as to rate ofproduction, to make;all stripsuniform'in length and of the full length of 95 the stock; and to avoid,substantially,"'all H disadvantageous heating or wear of: parts such aswould cause variation'in the product in even a very long continuousrun.f

In the practice of my invention a. machine substantially. as hereinafterdescribed, operating -by the 1 method disclosed.

the strips, the other to operate the drawing p I employloo I In thedrawing Figure 1 is a side eleva-' tion of a machine for rolling muntinstrips of the character described. Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 arerespectively transverse sections on lines 22 to 7-7 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 isa longitudinal horizontal section above the lower rolls, with the upperrolls and gearing removed; Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are perspective .detailsshowing different portions of a former-core associated with the rollsand with leading-guides. Fig 12 is a detail of a rolladjustingeccentric; Fig. 13 is a sectional detail through leading-guide 53. Fig.14 is a broken perspective detail of a strip taken from the machine inpartially'completed condition, showing the several'steps in theformation of the completed article.

In the machine, the roll-couples 2222, 2323.,retc., to 27-27 are mountedon a frame plate 28 to rotate in unison, with their coacting surfacesall traveling in the same direction, under power applied toyone of theroll shafts, preferably an elongatedshaft 29 of roll 27 The gearing maybe varied.

but as here shown. each roll pair is provided with a gear couple 30-307,and motion iscommunicated from couple to couple by idler pinions 31connecting, in train, the several gear members 30. Each roll member,fixed to its appropriate gear member, is mounted for rotation on a shortshaft 32 or 32, the last roll 27 having a special shaft 29' which isextended to receive any suitable power transmitting clutch,conventionally illustrated.

in Fig. 7 as 33. For adjustment. ofthe two members ofeach roll couplewith respect to each other, to vary the pressure between the rollmembers, the shaft 32 for each upper is fed to the rolls inpredetermined position from a guide table 50 having guiding side flanges51, and in its progress through the machine, the strip is methodicallyacted on by successive roll couples so that first it is symmetricallybent (in cross section) to provide a short, central bar portion, flankedby half-heads defining one channel of the com pleted article; then thewing or border along one edge of the strip is reentrantly rolled,preferably around a forming core, to complete the head on one side andlay one border of the strip fiat upon the central bar portion of thestrip; and then the other wing portion, similarly to the first, isreentrantly rolled into the second head and its extreme border portionis laid flat on the bar part of the strip.

\ strip of the proper width the two extreme wings are successivelyrolled down, reen- By using a metal border portions may be laid uponthecentral bar portion jointly to'constitute the second-thickness of saidbar, and may be brought into substantial butt-contact along their edges;the successive bending of the two wings enabling them to be brought totheir final positions without interference.

Because of the somewhat granular character of zinc, and its comparativelow tenacity, I prefer to make each rolling operation 7 rather mild inthe change of form imparted thereby to the strip-stock, and to this end,among others, I have sub-divided each of: the three steps of theoperation above stated. into at least two operations, andeffect also ana. finishing operation, as may best be seen byp reference .to Figs. 2 to7. The first two roll couples substantially form the lower half of thecompleted strip, bending it to provide the central bar forming thebottom of the channel, and two halfheads flankin the bar; then the two.wings are bent in jointly, toal'most meeting position as part of boththe second and third steps; and then the two trantly, to complete thesecond and third steps, after which a finishingv ressure is applied togive final sharpnesso definition to the muntin bar. Of the first rollcouple 22-22, the lower roll 22 provides a central bar-forming rib 22,preferably having its edges slightly rounded, and flanked by grooves 22beyond which are wing-deflectingflanges 22, preferably widely flaredoutwardly; and the complemental roll 22 has a central groove 22 flankedby projecting ribs 22 cooperating with the complemental parts of thelower roll, as illustrated in Fig. 2. At this first stage a metal stripis formed as at 42 to approximately the lower'half of its ultimatesection, but preferably without particular sharpness of definition ofits angles, so as to avoid possibility of tea-ring, crystallizing orthinning too much, the metal. I find it to be preferable in practice vto give the .wing-shapingfianges 22 a con vex curvature, as thereby thewings of thd strip are prevented from rufiling or wrinkling. The strip,formed to the cross section indicated at 42, passes to a leadingguide 53which extends substantially from the periphery of the lower roll 22- tothe contiguous roll 23' of the next couple so as to guide the stripsubstantially in the plane of tangency to the tops ofthe rolls, in astraight material-path that leads directly through the machine. suchguide 53 is preferably pivotally mounted on a pin 54 for slight lostmotion of its receiving end, (which is slightly beveled down below theplane of travel) in a downward direction, until stopped by contact withthe roll 22, its leading end being shaped for cooperation with theadjacent roll 23, normally to rest lightly on the periphery thereofunder the 56, subjacent to the core being preferably new influence ofgravity. The top surface of the guide is shaped toprovide a lon 'tudinalridge 55 flanked by grooves 55' i' ingly to cooperate with the channeland ads of the p'artiallyformed stock strip. The second rollcougle23l123 furthers the strip-formation, su stantially to complete thefirst step of forming the "lower half section of the article, bysharpening the definition of the bends of the channel and saidhead-halves, and deflecting the wings inwardly somewhat to produce thecross-section 43. To this end the rib 23, grooves 23 of the lower rolland cooperating portions23 and 23 ofv theupper rolls are more sharplyangled than in the first roll couple, and the wing.form-ingflanges23 areshaped more nearly vertical and coiiper+ ate with convened guidingsurfaces 23 of the upper roll to produce the, substantially completelower-channel formation shown in Fig. 3. p 4

The succeeding lower rolls of the series are nearly identical with roll23* in their central-rib and flankingrgroove formation,

and leading guides 56, 57, 58, and59, that substantially correspond inconstruction with the guide 53, are rovided in the'spaces between theseveral ro ls so that the strip is guided throughout the" machine bycoaction of the channel first formed therein with the co-acting surfacesof-the leading guides and several lower rolls. The operator has merelyto feed. the strip to the first roll-couple. Its progress thereafter isautomatically effected and it travels straight through the machine.

gated fingers or rails conforming to'the interior curvatures to beimparted to the strip heads and extending longitudinally from the pointof support on the stud 61, through the material-path provided by thegrooves of the roll pairs and of the leading guides to, preferably,substantially theacting surfaces ,of the terminal or finishing rolls. Atits supported end the forming core preferablyhas its rails united by ahorizontal top strip or bridge 60*, made integral therewith andextendingv forward to the operating surface of the roll 25', the leadingguide made narrow, to lie only within the groove between the core-rails.formed strip of the crosssection 43, rides from rolls 23-23" toithenextroll couple on bridge 60' across the former rails 60 The partially Ithe leading guide 56, with its win portions straddling the rails 60?.The gui e stud 61 carries a block 65-having a properly shaped.

mouth 66, that steadies the wings, refer-j ably deflectingthem fartherinward s ightly or preventing them from spreading, and

that leads them properly to the third roll couple 24-24. I

The lower member of'the third roll cou-j ple provides the appropriaterih 24* and channel 24*, with as narrow lateral margins i -as isconsistent with requisite strength,

while the upper roll 24 provides ri-ng.-de.-

fleeting portions 24'f straddling exteriorly the wings of the strip tobendthem inward, so'that they curve snugly around the sides of therails'flOF, thus giving the interior curvature to both the head beadsand pro-; 'ducing the configuration shown at 44, Fig. 4. Thisintermediate step, of iii-bending both wings to 'almost meet constitutespart of the second and third steps and eases the subsequent action ofthe succeeding rolls in rentrantly bending the two wings, success sivelto complete the strip. It will be note that where thisinwarddeflectionof both wings occurs, the core rails are united" I! by thebridge 60*, so that,the lateral ressures are equalized. The'leading guie 57 following the third roll-couple is preferably. provided with-a wingguiding extension 57" extending upwardly and forwardly over thecore-rail 60,. to press the left wing of the strip inward somewhat,properly feeding it to the contiguous ro'll couple 2525'- by Thepreferably extends forward to substantially the forward end of saidextension 57 to give which it is to be" reentrantly ibent.

lateral strength'to the rail at that point.

The upper roll 25, provides a narrow rib 25 and a head formingchannel 25to bend rentrantly, to substantially completed condition, one lateralhead of the strip, leaving 119 the other strip-wing unafi'ected andpro.-

ducing the crosssection 45 and completing the second major step. Thesucceedinglead ing guide 58 has an extension 58 similar'to the extension57, to direct the right wing of the strip to the actionxof the nextupper roll 26. Said roll is provided with a narrow rib 26 flanked by aheadforming groove 26 for the-right hand 'head and a;

clearance groove 26" for'fthe previously formed left hand head. Thisroll-couple forms the remaining head as shown bycross-section 46, andcompletes the thirdv major step. The terminal rolls 27 andf27'are'finishing rolls, sharply d'efined,jas to their ribs 27, 27 andgrooves 27, 27* and usually 'operated under'considerable pre'ssure incoiiperatio'n with a' slightly attenu-I ated terminal portion ofthe'rails 60*, so as to cause a final compression and metal fiow for theultimate sharp definition of the lee loo 7 bends of the channel andheads and final compression of the border portions upon the central barof the strip securing the ultimate cross-section 47. The confrontingchannel engaging ribs 27* and 27 of the lower and upper rolls arepreferably scored or knurled to increase the positiveness of theengagement of the rolls with the strip, and to work the bar-portions ofthe muntin into intimate contact.

a It will be observed that the formation of the strip by the reentrantdeflection first of one wing and then of the other enables the strip tobe rolled with its edge portions abutting closely so as to form a doublebar at the base of the channel (although one layer of the bar is axiallydivided). In some forms of construction this closeness or meeting is notessential, but in manyinstances it is particularly desirable, forstrength and for uniformity of seating surface at the bases of thechannels. Beyond the terminal rolls the strip passes through a guidewhich may be of any desired length, only a fragment being herein shown.As the guide is closed at the top and bottom, it directs the stripstraight away from the roll without any bending thereof, and in practicethe rolled muntin strips so produced are satisfactorily straight, andfree from curves or twists.

While I have herein described in some detail a particular apparatusgforthe practice of my invention, particularly constructed with a view toworking on zinc, and therefore performing its operations in a number ofsteps adequate to prevent possibility of damage to this rather weakmetal, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that manymodifications in the machine might be made without departure from thespirit of my invention and within the scope of the appended claims. Alsoit will be understood by those skilled in the art that by changes indetails of roll design specifically different configurations of stripsmight be produced within the spirit of my invention. It will beunderstood, therefore, that while I have herein described in detail amachine which I have commercially used and found to be practical andefficient, for purposes of full disclosure of my invention, I do notlimit myself in detail to the specific features of construction orspecific operations of the rolls in the method of rolling, further thanas set forth in the claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is I 1. The art of rollingmuntin strips in the form of a double channel bar with hollow heads,which consists in rolling a fiat strip into a central channel, flankedby half-heads with wings extending back past the bottom bar of thechannel; reentrantly rolling one wing to complete a head and to lay thewing border on the said bottom bar; and thereon said bottom bar with thewing-margins n confronting and closely contiguous.

- 3. The method of rolling double channel strips which consists inrolling a fiat strip into a form presenting a central bar and flankinghalf-heads having wings extending back past the bar, mutually in-bendingsaid wings nearly to contacting position, and successively reiintrantlyrolling one' wing to complete a head and lay the wing border on saidbottom bar, and reentrantly rolling the other wing in like fashion.

4. The method of rolling double channel strips which consists in rollinga flat strip into a form presenting a central bar and flankinghalf-heads having wings extending .back past the bar, and thereaftermutually in-bending said wings nearly to contacting position, andsuccessively reentrantly rolling one wing to complete a head and lay thewing border on said bottom bar, and reentrantly rolling the other wingin like fashion while guiding the strip interiorly on a forming-core.

5. A machine for rolling muntin strips in the form of a double channelbar with hollow heads, comprising in combination successive roll couplesincluding certain rolls adapted and arranged to bend the strip into acentral channel flanked by half-heads l1aving wings extending back pastthe bottom bar of the channel; other succeeding rolls adapted andarranged reentrantly to rollone wing to complete a head and lay the wingborder on said bottom bar, and other; succeeding rolls adapted andarranged reentrantly to roll the other wing in like fashion.

6. A machine of the character described comprising in combinationsuccessive roll couples, whereof the first are adapted to roll a flatstrip into a central channel flanked by half-heads with wings extendingback past the bottom bar of the channel, and others are successivelyadapted rentrantly to roll one wing to complete a head and thereafterreentrantly to roll the other wing in like fashion; and leading guidesengaging the first formed channel interposed between the successive rollcouples.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of rollcouples com prising rolls adapted to shape a strip into a channel andsucceeding rolls adapted to work on the wing portions of the strip to Icomplete the formation thereof, leading guides interposed between theseveral pairs of rolls below the path of material travel through theroll and each arranged for engagement with the first-formed channel ofthe strip, said guides pivotally mounted for depression of the receivingend and limited in movement at that end contact with the contiguousroll.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of rollcouples,

comprising shaping portions leaving there-- between a material path, anda leading guide interposed between two roll couples below the materialpath, said guide beingv movably mounted for depression of its receivingend below the level of the material path, and normally standing with itsfinding crest' substantially in alinement wit the bottom of the materialpath.

9.- In a machine of the character described the combination of two rollcouples, shaped to provide a material'path, extending hor1 zontallythrough the machine, and a leading-guide interposed between said rollcouples, pivotally mounted between its ends,

' normally positioned with its guiding Crest substantially on the lineof the bottom of the material path to the rolls, and tiltable fordepression of its 1 eceiving cnd below the level of the material path toa position for substantial contact with the periphery of v the lowerroll of the first of said roll couples.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a seriesof roll couples, comprising rolls adapted and arranged to operate upon astrip and form therein a central channel flanked by halfheads with wingsextending back past the bottom bar of the channel, other succeeding 1rolls adapted and arranged convergently to bend said wing membersinwardly beyond 'the vertical, and other succeeding rolls Eadaptedreetrantly to bend said wing mem-- bers to complete the head formation.

11. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a seriesof roll couples comprising rolls adapted and arranged to operate upon astrip and form therein a central channel flanked by halfheads with wingsextending back past the bottom barof the channel, other succeeding Irolls adapted and arranged convergently to e strip into a hollow headedbar, with hollow heads in both sides; leading guides between the lowerrollsof the successive couples, and a forming core spanning a p'luralityof said roll couples and assing through the material-path defined J y-theacting surfaoes'of said roll'oouples and by. the leading guide, saidcore comprising two parallel rails supported at their receiving ends,and at then: forward oraleading endspositio'ned only bythe rolls.

13. In a machine .of the charaietei' scribed, the combination withvfirst-operation rolls adapted and arranged toform a strip into achannel, half-heads and wingsgsuc:

cessive second and third operation rolls adapted and arrangedsuccessivelyto bend rentrantly the side-wings to complete the formationof a double channel, and a'I core I supported at its receiv:

member, spanning the secondand'gthirdoperation rolls and ing end. a r

14. In a machine of the characterdescribed, the combinationwith-first-operation i rolls' adaptedv and arranged to form a strip intoa channel, half heads and wings; suc-' cessivej second and "thirdoperation rolls I adapted andarranged successively to bend,

reentrantly .the side wings to completethe formation of the doublechannel; leading guides extending between contiguous rolls forengagement with the channel-of the strip formed by the'first operationrolls; and a core member spanning the second and third...

operation rolls and 006 eratin therewith and with the leading gui es,sai core member supported at its receiving endand'bitiliilll with thesecond and third operation r0 s.-

15. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination withfirst-operation rolls adapted and arranged to form a strip into achannel, flanked by half heads and wings; wing-inbending rolls adaptedand arranged to bend said wings toward each other closer than the widthof the strip furcated. throughout its length of cooperathrough. the halfheads, other succeeding rolls adapted and arrangedfrentrantly to bendthe side wings to completethe formation of a double channel, and thecore mem-. ber, spanning said rolls subsequent to the first-operationrolls, supported at its-receiving end and providing rails correspondingwith the interior shape of the half head and separated throughout theirportions co6p-.v

erating with said reentrantly bending roll, and having a bridge portionspanning said rail where said core member coiiperates with saidinbending rolls.

16. In a machine of the character described, the combination withfirst-operation rolls, adapted and arranged to form a strip into achannel, flanked by half heads and wings, of successive second and thirdfis 1,140,087

operation rolls adapted and arranged snc- In testimony whereof Ihereunto set my cessively to bend rentrantly the side Wings hand in thepresence of two subscribing Wit- 10 to complete the gornijmtion of adciuble chm? nesses.

nel, leading gui es. etween'the ower r01 s of the successive couples,and Wing guiding- SILAS VANNAMAN extensions on the leading guides thatdirect In the presence of-- the strips to the second and third operationMARY F. ALLEN,

rolls. GEO. T. MAY, J r; Y

